We’re in New Haven, but still in a hotel….

Right after crossing the Hudson River, we swung north for the last leg of the trip and arrived on 8/19.

Well, I completed my drive across the country with my daughter and my dog (she drove, but the dog didn’t). I had hoped for stunning scenic views in the Western U.S. but then realized that I-80 takes the most expedient path, not the most picturesque one. Still, I took a lot of photos of mountains, fields, prairies, rivers, Lake Michigan, and downtown Chicago. It was a thrill to finally arrive in New Haven.

I was hoping to sign the bank papers for my condo and move in this weekend because orientation starts on Monday, 8/24. However, the powers that be tell me that the bank paperwork won’t be completed until next week, and they’re not sure when. So we are still in a residential style hotel in the industrial section of New Haven, and we’re all a little tired of hotel living. I drove past the divinity school today just to stay excited about being here, and then we drove quite a while before we found a grocery store several miles south of New Haven. I started to experience culture shock merely from looking at unrecognizable food brands on the store shelves. Oh, well. I’m sure we’ll settle in soon enough.

In the meantime, UPS and FedEx have tried to deliver some of my boxes to my new condo but weren’t able to, and I have no idea where the bulk of my stuff is. I think it’s somewhere on a truck or in a warehouse, including my piano keyboard and piano music. I would really like to unpack my keyboard, which I packed back in May.

The post office also has probably tried to deliver things to the new address, and who knows where all my mail has gone! Moving is complicated, and it’s even more complicated when you’ve been in temporary housing for a month.

I also start my semester of teaching for American River College, although I’m teaching only a 50% load of classes. I am somewhat concerned about balancing seminary coursework and my online teaching load, but I am very grateful to American River College for preserving my job for me in this way.

I am still cheered by the lovely sendoff I had from St. Francis Episcopal Church in Fair Oaks, CA, and the many encouraging Facebook messages from friends while we were on the road. The many blessings and e-companionship kept my spirits and my daughter’s spirits high, so thank you all for that.

Besides the culture shock at the grocery store, the only other observations I can note about New Haven besides the incredibly beautiful downtown and Yale campus are that it is humid here, and the air smells very different from air on the West Coast. I think the Long Island Sound and the humidity affect the air here, just as dryness and oak trees affect the air in Sacramento.

Well, it’s off to the hotel lobby to tell them we need the room for several more days….